Russia's Eifman Ballet returns to London to celebrate 40th anniversary

Renowned St. Petersburg dance company Eifman Ballet has returned to London to “astound” audiences with its UK premiere of Up & Down – a “tragic and bright chronicle of a person’s spiritual death.”

Based on the 1934 F. Scott Fitzgerald novel Tender is the Night, ‘Up & Down’ follows the rise and fall of a young psychoanalyst and one of his schizophrenic patients, who end up marrying. It is set in the 1920s, to a mostly George Gershwin and Franz Schubert score.

“The story about how a dream of happiness turns into a disaster, and an externally beautiful and carefree life flowing to the rhythms of jazz – into a nightmare,” founder Boris Eifman says.

Eifman Ballet is also celebrating its 40th anniversary. First established in 1977, it is one of the world’s largest non-classical ballet companies. Eifman has created more than 50 full-length works, which have been performed throughout the world.